Emma Kobolakis's Profile

Ultimate Birthday Cake From 'Baked Occasions'

@mollysimmons73: Nice! Sounds like you really got in there to get it done, good work!

@melchelf: I've gotta find me a Mennonite bulk store. I had no idea.

Ultimate Birthday Cake From 'Baked Occasions'

@melchelf & @asianjewishdeli: The cake in the photo has definitely had its levels modified a bit; that's dentist-office white, and that's not easily achieved in a home kitchen. I personally didn't try making the frosting with shortening, but powdered sugar would help keep things bright white, I think.

@avivi: being that butter is already being called for, doubling the amount of butter wouldn't cause a disaster, I don't think - but it might suffer a bit texture-wise.

@melchelf: as for the sprinkles, Wilton makes a decent sprinkle (as referenced in one of the comments above). I'm trying to find the sprinkles I used, will update. I'm just thinking right now, nonpareils might be awesome to use, and add a nice little crunch.

Ultimate Birthday Cake From 'Baked Occasions'

@asianjewishdeli & jenawithonen: Sounds like you guys had vastly different experiences! Sorry it didn't work out for you, jen, glad it did work for you, asianjewishdeli!

Ultimate Birthday Cake From 'Baked Occasions'

@atg117: In my experience, yes, they are all waxy, but some taste like candle wax while others are sweet and pleasant with a slightly waxy feel.

@PommeDG: Right, the up to 1 1/2 cups was meant to indicate the outside of the cake. Sorry that wasn't clear.

Ultimate Birthday Cake From 'Baked Occasions'

@Frenchsoda: Yes to the clear vanilla! Apologies for not mentioning it.

The Best Apple Crisp

Cool, thanks! It does save time, but I think I might peel mine.

Making now!

The Best Apple Crisp

So, we shouldn't peel the apples?

Gooey Honey Blondies From 'Ovenly'

@erikivy: Welcome! I say snag a bottle of honey and try these out. They're easy enough to make :)

Hazelnut Maple Cookies With Orange Zest From 'Ovenly'

@scrootch Not exactly. The egg whites in a recipe of brutti ma buoni are whipped, which creates a meringue-like texture. Here, the egg whites are not whipped, just folded in with the rest of the ingredients.

Gooey Honey Blondies From 'Ovenly'

Hmmm, I think the molasses might make them a LITTLE too malty...and maple syrup is definitely thinner than honey. So while combining the two (molasses and maple) would give you the right texture, I'm not so sure about flavor. You could certainly try, though!

Hazelnut Maple Cookies With Orange Zest From 'Ovenly'

Since we're going by weight and not volume, I would say a pound of hazelnuts weighs the same as a pound of ground hazelnuts, and so a pound of the flour can be used in this recipe.

Gooey Honey Blondies From 'Ovenly'

No worries, Karen! They certainly are dense little guys. I'm glad that you were pleased with the addition of a little salt. Very much welcome, Ovenly is a lovely book.

Manner Matters: How to Deal With Lateness

I agree with your advice 100%, Molly! I myself have a window I abide by, similar to some commenters here. I have to say I must be blessed; the housewarming I threw had a 6pm start time, which I never intended to be stringent; regardless, I had friends contact me beforehand asking if it was all right that they showed up a bit later. I appreciated their forethought, and would think that's something a chronically late person might adopt - a little heads-up goes a long way.

Chocolate Chocolate Teacake From 'Huckleberry'

@pourgirl: Sweet!

@impuzzled: Right?

@ecca31: Sounds like a couple people had an overflowing issue - super powerful baking powder/soda, perhaps? Glad you enjoyed.

@beckyleeprice: Exactly what adgvx2000 said.

@BakerRB: Loaf pan on cookie sheet would be the way to go! And "smoked sea salt" is a great idea.

Chocolate Chocolate Teacake From 'Huckleberry'

@mikeyg83: Why thank you!

Chocolate Chocolate Teacake From 'Huckleberry'

@Rice Bowl: It's fine to substitute AP flour for the pastry flour indicated.

@AJStewart: I wouldn't go with orange juice, but perhaps red wine? I've made red wine chocolate cakes before, and the results were rather interesting.

Baked Apples With Oat Crumble From 'Huckleberry'

@salsasis14: Check out my recommendations here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/baked-apples-with-oat-crumble-from-huckleberry.html?ref=title

Basically, I prefer Granny Smith because I like a little less sweetness.

Baked Apples With Oat Crumble From 'Huckleberry'

@plazamaorb: Exactly what I thought - the "tips & tweaks" part of the post mentions subbing cider for juice.

Gramercy Tavern's German Chocolate Cake

No, that doesn't seem right.

Jelly-Filled Donuts From 'The Everyday Art of Gluten-Free'

@NigellaBleu: It can if you want it to :)

@HumptyDancingRobot: One batch of the Donut & Fritter blend, as it appears in the recipe, makes 5 1/2 cups. To make these donuts, you will need 2 batches of choux paste. To make one batch of choux paste, you need 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons Donut & Fritter blend. To make the two required batches of choux paste, you need twice that, so 1 cup + 6 tablespoons of D&F blend.

In step 3, the choux paste instructions, you are adding the amount specified for choux paste, not the entire 5 cups of D&F blend.

Step 4 dictates the dough CAN be refrigerated, and gives instructions how. In Step 4, you've just made the dough, so Step 5 tells you to chill it in order to make the donuts. Choux paste is used in several recipes in the book, so there are standardized choux paste instructions + individualized recipe instructions that were combined here.

I doubled the quantities of choux paste ingredients and changed the instructions accordingly. Should be crystal clear now.